A display device is an output device for presentation of information in visual or tactile form (the latter used for example in tactile electronic displays for blind people). When the input information is supplied as an electrical signal, the display is called an electronic, or digital, display.
An electronic visual display is display technology which incorporates flat panel displays, performs as a video display, output device for presentation of images transmitted electronically, for visual reception, without producing a permanent record.
Common applications for electronic visual displays used to be television sets or computer monitors, but these days electronic visual displays tend to be ubiquitous as interface for large amounts of visual information in mobile computing applications like portable information communication technology devices. They can also be found in digital signage.
Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs (frequently utilizing technologies such as LCD, LED, plasma displays, or projected images to display content) can be found in both public and private environments, including retail stores, hotels, restaurants, and corporate buildings, amongst other locations.
Digital signage displays are most commonly controlled by personal computers or servers, through the use of either proprietary or public-domain software programs; this approach often allows the operator to avoid large capital outlays for the controller equipment.
Advertising using digital signage is a form of out-of-home advertising in which video content, advertisements, and/or messages may be displayed on digital signs with a common goal of delivering targeted messages, to specific locations and/or consumers, at specific times.
Digital signage is used for many different purposes and there is no definitive list. However, below are some of the most common applications of digital signage:                a. Public information—news, weather and local (location specific) information, such as fire exits and traveler information.        b. Internal information—corporate messages, such as health & safety items, news, and so forth.        c. Menu information—pricing, photos, ingredients, and other information about the food(s) being offered, including nutritional facts.        d. Advertising—usually either related to the location of the signage or using the audience reach of the screens for general advertising.        e. Brand building—in-store digital signage to promote the brand and build a brand identity.        f. Influencing customer behavior—directing customers to different areas, increasing the “dwell time” on the store premises, and a wide range of other uses in service of such influence.        g. Enhancing customer experience—applications include the reduction of perceived wait time in the waiting areas of restaurants and other retail operations, bank queues, and similar circumstances, as well as demonstrations, such as those of recipes in food stores, among other examples.        h. Enhancing the environment—with interactive screens (in the floor, for example, as with “informational footsteps” found in some tourist attractions, museums, and the like) or with other means of “dynamic way-finding”.        
Since digital signage content may be both frequently and easily updated, saving the printing and/or construction costs associated with static signage, and also because of the interactive abilities available through the accompanying employment of such real-world interfaces as embedded touch screens, movement detection and image capture devices, it has won wide acceptance in the marketplace.
Content, in the context of digital signage, is the name used to describe anything designed and displayed on screens. Content is wide and varied, and indeed may be of any variety, including text, images, animations, video, audio, and interactivity. It has frequently been argued that digital signage must rely on useful content if it is to work effectively.
While the technology is well-established, it is often the content that fails, perhaps because marketers have not yet widely adapted their thinking to produce appropriate and engaging content.
Content design (much like the design for static signage) is typically done through a specialist agency or, alternatively, by an “in-house” individual, team, or department. While there are a great number of different software solutions available, the most popular are proprietary to digital signage. The use of other systems to run a digital signage network often does not provide the necessary flexibility and management, as the proprietary software can create conflicts with open-source software.
In many digital signage applications, content must be regularly updated to ensure that the correct messages are being displayed. This can either be done manually as and when needed, through a scheduling system, using a data feed from a content provider.
Digital signage relies on a variety of hardware to deliver the content. The components of a typical digital signage installation include one or more display screens, one or more media players, and a content management server. Sometimes two or more of these components are present in a single device but typically there is a display screen, a media player, and a content management server that is connected to the media player over a network. One content management server may support multiple media players and one media player may support multiple screens. Stand-alone digital signage devices combine all three functions in one device and no network connection is needed.
LED matrix displays often use modular display components, to allow for varying sizes and shapes of displays, and to make assembly and construction easier. A modular display consists of two parts:                a. display matrix modules (8×8 pixels, 16×16 pixels, 8×16 pixels, etc.)        b. display matrix controller        
For example, a variable-size display may use modules 16 LEDs wide and 16 LEDs tall. To construct a display 64 pixels wide and 32 pixels tall, the display is built using a construct four modules wide and two modules tall. To correctly align the individual modules, either a support frame is used or the modules are joined together along the edges.
Matrix modules may be joined to the controller using individual data connectors, thereby limiting display area expansion to the total number of data connectors available on the controller, or the modules may communicate with the controller using a shared data bus, and the position of the matrix module to display its portion of the overall image is assigned via a data bus ID number or matrix position code.
Re-use of position/bus-ID codes allows for more than one matrix module to display the same information. In this manner a double-sided or quad-sided display can be constructed using a single matrix display controller, and reusing all module position/bus-ID codes on each face of the display.
In either case, unusual non-rectangular display shapes can sometimes also be constructed by using the tiles in a free-form construction, skipping module locations in the matrix. Very large displays can be built to span across physical gaps in space where module mounting is otherwise impossible, but the disjointed modules still form a coherent image coordinated with other modules in the matrix.
Standard LCD or plasma video displays may also be combined in this manner using a special VGA matrix controller, but typically there is unusable display area around the perimeter of a standard LCD or plasma panel which cannot be hidden, so combined LCD panels tend to have the appearance of an image broken into tiles.
Digital signage can interact with mobile phones. Using SMS messaging and Bluetooth (a standardized wireless communication technology and protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices), both of which are wireless communications technologies, some networks are increasing the interactivity of the audience. SMS systems can be used to post messages on the displays, while Bluetooth allows users to interact directly with what they see on screen. In addition to mobile interactivity, networks are also using technology that integrates social and location-based media interactivity. This technology enables end users to send Twitter and Flickr messages as well as text messages to the displays.
One problem with traditional signs is that they are not readable from a distance.
Another problem with traditional signs pertains to portability.
Another problem with traditional signs is the inability to react immediately with a timely message, especially during an event, since this is impractical with paper and marking pens. One attempt to solve this problem is to use a megaphone to communicate timely messages.
Another problem with traditional signs is the lack of a memory; once a traditional sign has been replaced, the “memory” is gone.
Another problem with traditional signage used in sports venues is that they are subsequently discarded as trash and end up in landfills.
These and other problems need to be addressed.
Related patents and published patent applications known in the background art include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,514, issued to Salimes et al. on Jan. 13, 2004, discloses a display enclosure which includes a case, a driver board assembly configured to provide signals to a display, a clamp assembly having a head configured to slidably engage the case and a protrusion configured to secure the driver board assembly to the case. A message center enclosure includes a case, a driver board assembly configured to generate a display, a pivot clamp assembly coupled to the case, and configured to couple the driver board assembly to the case, in a manner that is devoid of apertures through the driver board assembly for coupling the driver board assembly to the case. A method of manufacturing a message center enclosure includes obtaining a case having opposing first and second ends and at least one pivot clamp assembly, sliding a driver board assembly into the case, and sliding the pivot clamp assembly into the case.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,129, issued to Smith on Mar. 28, 2006, discloses a guardrail comprising a rail and an electronic display mounted on the rail. The display may be integrated with a bar code or RFID reader and a voice-recognition module.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2009/0150242, inventor Del Cogliano, published on Jun. 11, 2009, discloses a method and system for displaying selected advertisements on a vehicle for external viewing with the advertisements being selected based on the location and direction of movement of the vehicle when moving along a highway having a plurality of exits defined by exit zones, the exit zones being separated by non-exit zones, which includes the steps and related components for determining the position and direction of movement of the vehicle; storing exit coordinates and local advertisements of local advertisers; and displaying at least one stored local advertisement of at least one local advertiser located at a given exit when the vehicle is in a given exit zone. Non-exit specific advertisements may be displayed when local advertisements are not displayed.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2011/0258895, inventor Rodgers, Jr. published on Oct. 27, 2011, discloses methods and an apparatus for an automobile message display device. The device allows a user to compose a message on a first device, such as a cell phone, computer, or other personal electronic device and download the message to the automobile message display device. This download may be accomplished with a cable connection, or may be done wirelessly. A further embodiment allows for wireless reception of coded messages received from message transmitters. These messages are then displayed on the automobile message display device.
U.S. Published Patent Application 2011/0299234, inventor Layva Arboleda et al., published on Dec. 8, 2011, discloses a digital system for graphically displaying information with various applications such as, inter alia, advertising, commercial information, signposts, instructions; the system being able to be dismantled and being lightweight and portable; the system can be packed in a special hard container which may include wheels on the base thereof in order to facilitate the transport thereof to any location.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,675,514 and 7,018,129, plus published patent applications 2009/0150242, 2011/0299234 and 2011/0258895, are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
A portable digital sign that addresses and overcomes the numerous problems cited above is needed.
The foregoing patent, patent publication and non-patent information reflect the state of the art of which the inventor is aware and is tendered with a view toward discharging the inventor's acknowledged duty of candor in disclosing information that may be pertinent to the patentability of the technology described herein. It is respectfully stipulated, however, that the foregoing patent and other information do not teach or render obvious, singly or when considered in combination, the inventor's claimed invention.